Pop culture
King's Quest is a series filled with pop culture references and humor... While this is seldom discussed by fans, it is actually more common than people realize. Pop culture is often period specific to the time when the games were made, and might not age too well to modern or future audiences, or even region specific (that not everyone might catch that the reference is a reference as it might not be popularly known in their region). That is to say some players may not even realize they have been exposed to a pop culture reference when it happens in the series. According to Ken Williams the entire series was inspired by Disney features. Fairy tales and myth Almost any fairy tale reference could be considered pop culture reference. But if they were all discussed it would take up most of this to Deaths As discussed in Cartoon topic, many of the deaths in early King's Quest are inspired by cartoon deaths as you would find in Looney Tunes, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Silly Symphonies, and Merry Melodies. King's Quest Hintbooks and Articles *There are a number, but the one that appears in all of them is the Superman reference. *Irving Duracell in the KQ2 hintbook. *Luis and Clark *Wizard of Oz reference in the KQ3 hint book concerning magic shoes. *KQ7 Hintbook has a background story summary that is filled with modern "hip" terminology such as "cool", "bummed", "buds", "dude/dudes", "babe", "suntan lotion", "cute thing", "flipped", "righteous", "kid" (as in child), "dad", "kittyfication", "totally extreme", "Kranky Kitty", "stomped", "bop", "major cow", etc.https://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/A_Summary_of_King%27s_Quest. Some other sections use terms such as 'awesome'. *Jollo is referred to as a "down-in-the-mouth clown" this is an obvious reference to Uncle Albert in Disney's Mary Poppins. *"macho dude"The Magical World of King's Quest King's Quest Novels *Cowboys *Lasso *Zorobia's Potion Number Eleven (reference to Love Potion No. 9) *Demagogue Dan's Spell of the Fiery Furnance (reference to Daniel of the bible) *Some slight use of modern slang such as 'awesome' (but could be interpreted in its traditional sense as well). King's Quest 1 *In original KQ1 is a reference to Mikel Knight, which is both a reference to Knight Rider (Michael Knight), and also one of the developers on the game. The response Rumplestiltskin asks if the player thinks he is a car (in reference to KIT, the AI vehicle on the show). *The Witch's theme is taken from the Hollywood Classic: Wizard of Oz (KQ1AGI only). *Graham plays Pop Goes the Weasil when you randomly play the Fiddle. *The Swallowtail Jig (a famous and popular Irish JIg) is played as the basic Fiddle music on the Apple II version. *President Bush and Vice President Quail (KQ1SCI) *Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School (KQ1 SCI) *Weatherman in Daventry, one of the narrations talks about the temperature, and describes it in a way that a TV Weatherman would describe (KQ1 SCI). *Greensleeves (added into 1987 versions) *Graham Cracker joke (KQ1 SCI) *Many of the death puns originate from pop culture/idioms (KQ1SCI). King's Quest 2 *Batman and Batmobile, and the Batman 1960's music theme. *While Dracula is technically a character from literature. The version that appears in the game has more influence from Universal Studio's Bela Lugosi's version of Dracula than the original story. *Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (No classic Universal horror or TV show is complete without this music theme). Again pop culture association with Dracula from Bela Lugosi's Universal film. *The 'big bad wolf' might have more in common with film were-wolves. *Michael Jackson's Thriller is used as the theme song for the ghosts. *There is a reference to Mr. Ed the talking horse. *Greensleeves *The Death Music is a mix of Chopin's Death March mixed with Pop Goes the Weasel (Three Stooges style) *Plugs and advertisements for other Sierra games. *Wilhelm scream (Dracula's death in the Apple II version, famous sound effect heard in many movies) *The classic Wedding March at the end of the game. *Graham Cracker joke King's Quest 3 *There is a reference to Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. *There is a reference to Russian judges during the Olympics. *The Smurfs theme plays for the theme of Papa Smurf...er...Rumplestiltskin. *One of Manannan's punishments involves Gwydion forced to do aerobics to 1980's style pop disco/pop rock/workout music. *Teddy Bear's Picnic as the Three Bear's theme. *More plugs for Sierra games. *The pirate sailing tune is the Sailor's Hornpipe, probably the most popular themes for portraying Pirates in movies and plays. *The Jaws theme is played when the shark appears. King's Quest 4 *The Creature from the Black Lagoon can be seen in the Swamp. *Severall references to Leisure Suit Larry, see Leisure Suit Larry series *The Mummy is more of a Universal Film reference than any fairy tale or literary connection (this is made more explicit in the Companion). *A number of Wizard of Oz movie references. *The minstrel plays an offkey version of Joplin's the Entertainer. *Minstrell also plays an offkey version of Old Folks at Home/Suwanee River by Daly. It is a reference to The Honeymooner's episode "The 99,000 Dollar Answer". Ralph's pal Norton plays that as a warmup every time. *He also plays a offnote version of Greensleeves. *More plugs for other Sierra games. *Hen's theme is the Chicken Reel (what most Sierra fans think of as the "Astro Chicken theme"). *Drunken Sailor is played on the pirate copy protection screen (KQ4AGI) *The Jaws theme plays when shark is on screen. *While note quite 'pop culture' Rosella refers to Gaham as 'Dad' in the game. This is largely modern contemporary language compared to other terms such as "Father" *In KQ4 AGI is a reference to modern term "Kinky" in the secret room easter egg. "Ken Koch is the man with the graying hair in the lower left corner. He programmed half of the SCI version of King's Quest IV. His name is often abbeviated to Kinky." "Ken says, \"Quit calling me Kinky!\" King's Quest 5 *The Desert Temple is based off the Al Khazneh (the treasury) in Petra. The same temple seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This has inspired some Indiana Jones references in some of the guides. *The game uses the classic pie throwing gag from tv and cartoon comedy routines as a puzzle solution to defeat the Yeti. *Throwing a shoe/boot at a cat is a classic gag from early days of comedy as well. Although it usually involves throwing boot/shoe at cats singing/yowling on top of a fence. *The narrator maybe going for a Burl Ives style narration. *Many of the death puns originate from pop culture/idioms. King's Quest 6 *Several references to Sierra Online Culture. *Local California pop culture reference to the World Famous' Talking Bear. *Don't just wander, Alexander! Let your conscience be your Guide. This is a reference to a quote from Jimminy Cricket a character from the Disney's Pinnochio. *And then there's some land I have for sale in the death bogs of Tamir.... This comes from the idiom "there's swampland in Florida I have for sale.", or "I have a bridge to sell you..." sometimes appended with "in Arizona"... *Alphabet soup *Dentist joke *The voicework of a number of the characters in the game are based off of famous and dead personalities. Jollo for example is based on the voice of the comedian Ed Wynn. Even his face might be considered similar to Ed Wynn's appearance... *The store owner is thought to resemble James Earl Jones. *Many of the death puns originate from pop culture/idioms. *Bump on a Log refers to 'Mom'. Not directly pop culture, but it is modern lingo that appears in the game (as opposed to more formal 'mother'). King's Quest 7 *References to Silence of the Lambs. Mr. Nibbler is even described as a Hannibal Lector impersonation in the game's script. *Gregor Samsa *Moose joke *The faux shop is filled with a number of real world/pop culture references. *Monty Python references. Holy Tomato of Antioch is a reference to Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. *The Imperial Margerine Crown (including the crowning tone). The music played before the crowning is musical popular theme. *Little Shop of Horrors references. *Monosodium glutamate *Jelly beans *Ooga Booga has a general Tim Burton vibe, and the Boogeyman has some similarieties to Beetlejuice (even down to some of the similar music). *Jack-in-the-Box plays Pop goes the Weasel. *The mummy in the Jack of Lantern resembles Gonzo from the muppets. *One of the two Ghoul kids is dressed like Charlie Brown. *The Extra Life obtained from the cat is a reference to bonus lives found in most action games, but also the old wives tale that cat's have nine lives. *Artificial Flavors *Lava Lamps *Rubber chickens *Andromeda Pig Nose Glasses and Googley Eyes *Electric Guitar *Cat Clock in the store is nod to the famous Kit-Cat Klockhttps://kit-cat.com/ *Wooden Nickel *Chocolate malt/strawberry malt *The voice of the spider in the woods is based on Peter Lorre. *The voice of the Mockingbird is based on Gilbert Gottfriend (famous for Disney's Iago, or later as the Aflac duck), and the characters jokes contain a number of pop culture references. *Many of the death puns originate from pop culture/idioms. *The Ghoul Kids could easily be a panache of both Denis the Menace and Bart Simpson, or even Beevis and Butthead. They say modern slang like 'cool', 'totally' and other puns and jokes off of 'cool kids'/'hipster' quotes like "Get a Life" as "Get a Death", and other modern phrases. It is very skater/surfer/valley girl in nature. *The were-bear wears shorts with heart patterns all over them. Also getting into edgy more adult humor Rosella discovers a hot teddy, slinky nightgown, and sexy underwear. Not the kind of items you'd expect in a children's game, and would be at home in Leisure Suit Larry. King's Quest 8 *DND or other RPG inspired references... *Cowboys *Mr. Dildo King's Quest Companion *In general most of the Lovecraft references (Necromnomicon, Cthulhu, Abdul Alhazred, Dholes, Night Guants, R'lyea, Wilbur Whately, Innsmouth, and Ia' R'lyea! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ia'! Ia', etc). *The Book of the Damned *The Principia Discordia *Zuvembies *Tarzan *Growl Tiger the Bravo Cat *Pooh Bear *Sherlock Holmes & Dt. Watson. *W. C. Fields *Cheshire Cat *Mr. Kurtz (Heart of Darkness) *Leader of the Pack *Etaoin Shrdlu *Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner, David of Bruce, and Thor *More Wizard of Oz movie references. *The Disney names for the Seven Dwarfs. *The name Frankie of Avalon *Monastery of the Blessed Wilbury (reference to a band) *Cocteau the Thrice Blessed (reference to an film director of Beauty and the Beast movie) *Arthur C. Clarke *Lizard Folk (assorted) *Good Housekeeper's Book of Common Spells and Potions (reference to Good Housekeeping Magazine) *The Mummy film connections. *Milvia *Jym and Tam Baker, and Fey brothers (1980's tv evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker) *Atreyu *Hakim may be named after Ali Hakim, the chauvinistic Persian peddler from Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" Hakim bears a striking resemblance to James Earl Jones. *The Eye Between the Worlds is a 1980-1990s style personal computer. *Possible RPG and DND references. Example Lizard Folk. Official Book of King's Quest *Indiana Jones *Mark Spitz *Adaams family *Elizabeth Taylor *Santa *Mickey Mouse *Jaws *Soupy Sales *Bo Peep *The Olympics and Russian Judges. *Love Canal *Mt. Rushmore *Use of modern slang like 'hot', 'awesome', 'babe' and 'dude'. King's Questions *References to Bewitched. *General references to Sierra On-line culture. *More Superman references (Clark Kent, City of Kandor) *More Wizard of Oz references. *Egglebert of Pumperdinck (English pop singer) *Liberaunchy of Lost Wages (another famous singer, and a LSL reference) *Bill and Hillary Clinton *Zola *Tarn-X *Frankie of Avalon *Monastery of the Blessed Willbury *Chocolate Chip Tollhouse (Nestle Toll House cookiess) *Hostess cupcakes *Ant King Cole (Nat King Cole) *Auntie Mame *Hope Diamond (Hopeless Diamond) *Frigidaire (a freezer/fridge company) *Crystal Cathedral (Location of Hour of Power, TV evangelist Robert H. Schuller' tv broadcasting show between 70s and 80s, and his son in later years) *Temple Mogen Daventry *Jade Gazebo and Chinese take out. King's Quest Reboot *Leg Day, Belly Day, Arm Day, Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Labor Day, Belly Day, Leg Day, Opposite Day, Cheat day, etc. *Modern slang such as 'pissed'. *Graham Cracker joke (see also KQ1SCI and KQ2).... *"Excuse me, Princess" (famous among many as Link's catchphrase in the Legend of Zelda cartoons, but might have earlier references as well) *The chest opening in Chapter 3 maybe inspired by Legend of Zelda. *Midwestern Hemisphere and Waddles speaking in a Midwestern accent. *Modesto *Board games *Greensleaves *Yankee Doodle Dandy *Jelly Beans (see also KQ7) and Pizza *Cedric as a celebrity with his own mug. *The reboot actually reuses some of the animations of Graham which first appeared in the oriignal King's Quest (appears in KQ2, and also in KQ5 as well), his gait, and the way he rolls over when he falls, and landing with legs splayed with stars over his head. *The KQ5/KQ6 'ding sound'. *The tower in the distance in Chapter 3 that never changes size is based on the mansion in Citizen Kane. References Category:Pop culture